Authorities ‘Terrorize’ Cub Scout On A Terror Watch ‘Mix-Up’
A cub-scout became a victim of a terror list mixed-up. The eight-year-old from the US is apparently suspected of being a terrorist when he goes on holiday because of a name mix-up.
Cub scout Michael Hicks, from New Jersey, is believed to share his name with a suspicious person – and he gets stopped and searched at nearly every airport.
Problems began six years ago when the family tried to fly to Florida from Newark Liberty International Airport.
Airline staff said Michael’s name was “on the list” and the boy was ‘patted down’ – he was just two years old.
Since then, he has found it hard to get on a flight without any problems.
'I ain't terrorist, I am just an 8 year old cub scout'
Michael’s name seems to be on a government watch-list of suspicious persons, which triggers a higher level of security screening than other passengers.
The list is operated by the US Terrorist Screening Centre. Copies are passed to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which hands them out to airlines.
The TSA said, as a rule, there should not be any children on the list. But it would not comment on Michael’s case.
After years of delays at check-in and waiting for clearance from security, the final straw came when the family recently flew to the Bahamas.
We’ve tried everything to get him off this list and nothing has worked.
Michael’s mother Najlah Hicks
Michael was searched on the way there and more forcefully on the way home. His mother Najlah felt her son was being treated like a terrorist.
She told Sky News: “He doesn’t like being touched and he gets angry. One time he said, ‘Don’t worry mum, I know tae kwon do’.
“But joking aside, sometimes he’ll be pulled out of the line to be searched. He gets very upset when it happens.”
Mrs Hicks said she has done everything she can to get Michael off the list: “I understand they need to do his, I know there is a need for security. But it shouldn’t take eight years to get this fixed.”
Michael is not alone. More than 81,000 frustrated travellers have asked the Department of Homeland Security to remove their names from the list and there are 25,000 cases pending.
The Hicks have set up a Facebook group called strong>Get Mikey Off The List. But for now he will have to put up with being a suspect. He told Sky: “I’m not a terrorist. It’s stupid and it drives me nuts.”
Source: Sky News
Admin: Come on TSA, he is just an 8 year old cub scout. Where is your conscience and logic gone o’ police of the world?
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Category: Issues